"What the FUCK were you thinking?" he shouted.
Krycek slammed his desk drawer hard enough to make his pens and pencils jump
in their cup.
"Would you just get the hell off my back?" he snarled, dropping into his
chair. "The perp is in custody. No one got hurt. Just give it a rest already!"
"The hell I will!" Mulder shouted. "It's a fucking miracle you didn't get
your dumb ass shot off and you know it!"
Krycek exhaled sharply and ran his hand through his dark hair. It flopped
over his forehead in a way that made him look far younger than his twenty-six
years. He looked at Mulder, his jaw clenched. The older man had been berating
him nonstop ever since they left the scene of the raid. Krycek was sure he
was going to lose his mind if Mulder didn't shut up.
"Hey!" Mulder snapped, waving his hand at Krycek. "I'm talking to you!"
Krycek glared at him. "Stop fucking yelling at me, Mulder."
"You need to be yelled at, you little shit," Mulder growled, annoyed at
Krycek's snotty tone. "You need more than that if you ask me!"
"Well, who DID ask you?" Krycek retorted. "Stop playing the angry mother
hen, Mulder. The raid was a success, we made the collar, so why can't you just
be happy about it?"
Mulder resisted the urge to snatch the little jerk out of his seat and shake
some sense into him. Barely.
"Happy?" he repeated incredulously. "Happy? Oh yeah, I'm thrilled that I
got saddled with a green recruit who doesn't have any better sense than to enter
an unsecured building alone!"
Krycek stood up, red to the tips of his ears. His fists were clenched at his
sides. Mulder's 'green recruit' comment was the last straw.
"I'm telling you for the last time, Mulder," Krycek growled. "Knock it off."
Mulder crossed the room and stood toe to toe with Krycek. "And I'm telling
you, you little prick, if you EVER do anything that stupid again, I'll—"
"You'll what?" Krycek demanded, narrowing the already slight space between
them. "I'm getting sick and tired of this crap, Mulder. I might be young but
I'm an F.B.I. agent, same as you. And—"
"That's where you're wrong," Mulder snapped. "You're a junior agent,
Krycek. Junior! You're my responsibility. And I'm not going to be the one who
has to look your mother in the eye and tell her that her son is in a fucking
body bag in the Quantico morgue!"
Krycek's eyes glittered with rage. "You leave my family out of this."
"Let me make something perfectly clear, Junior Agent Krycek," Mulder said
sarcastically. "Just in case you were out sick the day they taught common
fucking sense at the Academy. You don't go into a darkened building and try to
take down a psychopathic killer alone. You're supposed to wait for backup.
You're supposed to wait for ME."
Krycek sat on the edge of his desk, arms folded defiantly. He smirked at
Mulder. "That's pretty rich coming from you. How many times did you ditch
Scully? You did it to me my first fucking day!" He snorted derisively. "You've
got one hell of a nerve lecturing me on the finer points of partnership,
Spooky."
Mulder gritted his teeth. The little shit came within inches of death not
three hours before, and yet he sat there smirking. Krycek obviously had no
concept of the seriousness of his actions.
Turning his back on Krycek, Mulder strode to his desk, pulled out his chair
and sat down. He logged on to his computer and began typing up his report.
Krycek watched him for a few minutes, his stomach beginning to knot with
anxiety. Mulder continued to ignore him, typing surprisingly fast for someone
using only two fingers.
Finally, Krycek could stand it no longer. "So, I guess you're going to try
and make me look like an asshole in your report."
"I don't have to try, Krycek. The facts speak for themselves."
Krycek stood and began pacing. "Yeah, I get it," he snarled. "Can't have
anyone stealing the limelight, eh, golden boy? Make me look bad in your report
and then YOU get all the credit for capturing Biggs."
Mulder stopped typing. "Look, Skippy," he said, clearly out of patience.
"You nearly got yourself killed today because you were so intent on proving
yourself. I'm not about to cover for you."
"Fuck!" Krycek shouted, stalking back over to his desk and slumping in his
chair. He chewed his lip nervously. "And don't call me Skippy," he griped,
sounding a lot less fierce than he had a moment before.
A heavy silence blanketed the basement office, broken only by the muted
clacking of Mulder's keyboard. Krycek sulked at his desk, his fingers worrying at
a crumpled Post-It, gradually turning it into smaller and smaller squares
until nothing remained but confetti. He swallowed hard, imagining what Mulder was
saying about him in his report. The thought of that long walk down the hall
to A.D. Skinner's office filled Alex with dread. The young agent had run
afoul of his stern boss before, and wasn't eager to repeat the experience.
"Um, Mulder..." Krycek began hesitantly, nervously brushing the mangled bits
of yellow paper into the trash can beside his desk. "Can we...uh...talk about
this?"
"We did," Mulder said flatly. "If I recall correctly, your main talking
points were mother hen, golden boy and....what else," he paused a moment and
looked up, as if trying to remember. "Oh yes," he said, deadpan. "Spooky."
Alex cleared his throat. "Um, well...I...I might have been a little...ah..."
Mulder looked at Krycek over his glasses, one eyebrow raised. Alex flushed a
deeper red and looked down, embarrassed.
"I think 'asshole' covers it nicely," Mulder remarked dryly. He started
typing again.
"Wait!" Krycek said anxiously. "Mulder...I..."
Mulder looked at him again, waiting, that same maddeningly bland expression
on his face. Krycek bit his lip and slumped in defeat.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I fucked up. Okay? I get it."
Mulder was unconvinced.
"No you don't," he said simply. "I don't think you have any idea how
reckless, dangerous and just plain idiotic what you did today was."
Krycek looked down again, pouting. It would have been funny if he wasn't in
so much trouble. Mulder, of all people, pulling this serious G-man routine.
He didn't end up shut away in the basement office by being by the book, that
was for damn sure. He was the laughingstock of the Bureau, for God's sake!
Not to mention all the times Krycek had walked past Skinner's closed office door
and heard him reaming Mulder a new one for his latest misadventure. And yet
he had the nerve to lecture Alex like he was a naughty little boy!
Krycek sighed. There was no way out of it. He was going to have to develop
a taste for crow.
"Come on, Mulder," he said pleadingly. "Give me a break."
Mulder snorted and turned back to his typing.
Krycek was growing panicky. When Skinner found out what he'd done, his ass
would be grass. Alex gulped at the thought of standing in front of Skinner's
desk, of Skinner's stern brown eyes measuring him up and finding him wanting.
The A.D. would have Alex for breakfast, and that was just for starters. Alex
would almost certainly be suspended or worse. And even if he kept his job,
he'd probably end up pushing papers in some forgotten field office where the
corn grew tall and brash young agents too big for their britches couldn't get
into trouble.
Nervously, Krycek rose and approached Mulder's desk. He stood in front of
it, hands clasped penitently behind his back, trying to look as remorseful as
humanly possible.
"Mulder?" he said softly.
Mulder ignored him.
"Please, Mulder," Krycek begged. "You can't hand in that report. You know
what Skinner will do to me!"
Mulder looked at Krycek. "You know what he'll do to me if anything happens
to you?"
"I swear, it'll never happen again," Krycek said, holding his hands out in a
conciliatory gesture. "You have my word. Come on, Mulder. Give me another
chance."
Mulder leaned back in his chair. "Another chance to get yourself killed? No
thanks."
Krycek wanted to scream with frustration. Why did Mulder have to pick now to
become such a stickler for procedure? Having to beg like this was
humiliating. He felt his face burning as he fidgeted in front of Mulder's desk like a
schoolboy kept after class.
"Please," he said again, softly. "Come on, Mulder. You were new once. You
know what it's like to want to make your mark!"
Mulder got up and went to the printer, plucking the pages off as the machine
spit them out. "You almost made your mark, all right," he said over his
shoulder. "The kind blood spatter analysts see every day."
"Okay, okay!" Krycek shouted. "You made your point! I was reckless. I was
stupid. I didn't wait for you. I know I fucked up royally, and I know you're
right to be pissed, and I know you have every right to haul me into Skinner's
office for it. But I'm asking you not to, Mulder. I'm begging you. It'll
ruin my career, you know that."
Mulder turned and looked at Krycek, his hazel eyes cool and clear.
"Yes," he said quietly. "I'm aware of that."
Krycek hung his head. "This is all I have, Mulder," he said miserably. "The
F.B.I. is all I've ever wanted. I can't lose it."
Mulder hesitated, the sheaf of papers in his hand.
"Krycek..."
"Please, Mulder," Krycek said again, his eyes bright. "I...I know how bad I
fucked up. I know I deserve to get tossed out on my ass. But if you give me
this chance, I swear I'll work hard, every day, to win back your confidence.
I'll do anything."
Mulder stood for a moment, apparently deep in thought.
"All right, Krycek," he said, his tone matter-of-fact. "But don't think
you're getting off scot free. You don't want to deal with Skinner, fine. But you
still have to deal with me."
Krycek blinked. "Wh-what do you mean?" he asked nervously.
Mulder leaned casually against the wall, his arms folded. "I mean," he said
quietly, "that while I have no interest in seeing you blow your entire career
over a single but indisputably boneheaded decision, I also have no intention
of letting you off the hook. So make your decision, Krycek. Either Skinner
handles it, or I handle it. Right here, right now, just between us."
Krycek blushed bright red. "Handle it?" he squeaked. "What—"
"Decide," Mulder said firmly. "My report is ready. You'll either answer to
him, or you'll answer to me. Either way, you WILL answer for what you did
today."
Krycek stuffed his hands in his pockets and stared down at his shoes.
"I...uh...I pick you," he mumbled. He hoped the floor would open up and swallow him
whole, but when it didn't, he sighed resignedly and looked up. "Just between
you and me, right? No one else?"
"That's what I said," Mulder replied, walking over and locking the office
door. He dropped the report on the edge of his desk before slipping his suit
jacket off and draping it over his chair. Krycek watched him warily. Mulder was
moving with businesslike efficiency, moving things to one side, clearing a
space on his desk. Once the piles of paper, miniature alien figures, fake UFO
photos and newspaper articles were out of the way, Mulder unbuttoned his cuffs
and pushed up his sleeves.
Krycek watched him like a mouse watches a hawk. "Um...Mulder?"
"Just a minute," Mulder said brusquely. He opened his top drawer, glanced
inside, and closed it again. Krycek stood rooted to the spot, hands opening and
closing anxiously, his stomach turning nervous somersaults. Just what the
hell was Mulder planning to do?
"All right, Krycek," Mulder said, coming to stand in front of the younger
man. "I'm glad you finally realize that you did something dangerous and stupid
today. That's going to make this a lot easier for us both."
"Going to make what easier?" Krycek asked, his voice cracking a little. He'd
never seen Mulder like this before, so solemn, so determined, so in control.
It scared him a little. And there were other feelings...feelings he was
trying hard not to think about at the moment.
"Your punishment," Mulder said simply.
Krycek gulped. Did he have to put it like that? He felt all of seven years
old.
"Uh...look, Mulder," Krycek said quickly, stepping back a little. "I kind of
thought we were just going to talk it over, you know, something like that."
"We'll talk," Mulder replied. "But first, you need to take off your jacket.
Then unbutton your pants and drop them to your knees."
Krycek's eyes bugged. "Wh-what?!?" he choked.
Mulder frowned. "You heard me," he said firmly. "I'm not playing around
here, Krycek. I said I would deal with you and I meant it. Now," he added,
glancing at the report that lay just a few inches away, "either obey my
instructions so we can get this over with, or take your chances with Skinner."
"But Mulder," Krycek whined, gripping his jacket tightly, "you can't really
mean to—"
"I can and I do," Mulder said, his tone even and resolute. "This is your
last chance to choose. It's me or Skinner. It doesn't matter to me either way.
But if you choose me, we handle things my way."
Krycek's throat was dry and it made a soft clicking sound as he swallowed.
He bit his lip and looked down at the floor.
Nope. Still not opening up and swallowing him.
"Fuck!" Krycek grumbled under his breath, a sense of disbelief coming over
him as he slowly took off his jacket and laid it on his desk. He felt a flush
creeping over his entire body as he fumbled with his pants, at last getting
them unzipped and pushed down to his knees.
He stood there in his black boxers, feeling like the world's biggest dork.
Of course, he thought to himself. F.B.I. agents order their partners to drop
their pants all the time. I'm sure it happens hundreds of times a day.
"Good," Mulder said, interrupting Krycek's reverie. "Now the boxers."
"No fucking way!" Krycek snapped, clutching them desperately. "Jesus,
Mulder!"
"Okay," Mulder said, shrugging. He picked up the report and started toward
the door.
"Wait!" Krycek cried. "Just wait, goddammit." Gritting his teeth, he pushed
his boxers down. He tugged his shirttail down to cover himself and blinked
back tears of outrage. He never thought Mulder would take things this far.
Mulder replaced the report and walked around to his desk drawer. He opened
it and took out a wooden ruler. It was oversized, about two feet long, and
quite wide. Krycek stared at it, gulping audibly.
"O-okay Mulder," Krycek said, backing up. He smiled weakly. "Joke's over.
You can stop now. I won't ever do anything like that again."
Mulder's gaze was level and calm. "It's no joke," he said quietly. "You're
going to bend over my desk and I'm going to apply this ruler to your bare ass
until I'm SURE you've learned your lesson. And then I'm going to keep
blistering your butt until I'm convinced you'll remember it as long as you live."
Krycek's eyes were fixed on the ruler. "Mulder...you can't really be
serious," he breathed.
"Try me."
One look at Mulder's face convinced Alex. It really was no joke. Mulder
fully intended to spank him. Alex shook his head. He'd had a feeling that being
partnered with Fox Mulder was going to be a one of a kind experience, but
he'd never imagined just how unusual it would be.
Reluctantly, Krycek shuffled forward until his thighs were pressed against
the edge of Mulder's desk. He considered trying once more to make Mulder see
reason, but the sight of the damning report lying on the desk beside him made
him think twice. Mulder wasn't a patient man on the best of days and Krycek had
a feeling he had pushed his luck far enough.
He leaned forward and lay awkwardly over the desk, grateful for the coolness
of the wood veneer against his flaming cheek. He squeezed his eyes shut
tightly. Please just let it be over quickly, he thought. He was suddenly aware of
his cock pressing uncomfortably against the hard wooden edge of the desk. He
squirmed a little, trying not to think about being here like this, alone with
Mulder in the basement office. Bent over the desk, his ass naked and
vulnerable, Mulder so close...
He jumped when he felt Mulder's hand on his back.
"Relax," Mulder said softly. "It'll hurt more if you tense up." He lifted
Krycek's shirttail.
"I thought you wanted me to hurt," Krycek said bitterly, unable to stop
himself.
There was silence behind him. Krycek trembled. Way to go, Alex. When a man
is standing behind you getting ready to play "Babaloo" on your bare ass is
not the time to cop an attitude.
"If that's what you think," Mulder said quietly, "then we really are wasting
our time here."
Krycek was quiet for a moment. He could hear an undercurrent of hurt in
Mulder's tone. He cares. That's why he's so pissed off at me. That's why he's
so determined to...to teach me. To make sure I never do it again. Krycek's
mind whirled with questions. He felt an almost uncontrollable urge to find out
what made Mulder tick, what went on in his mind. What was he thinking right
now? What was it about Krycek that brought out Mulder's protective instincts?
What made him so sure Krycek would accept his discipline and not go running
to Skinner?
Krycek took a deep breath. "No...I don't think that, Mulder. I'm sorry."
Mulder was silent for a moment. "Then let's get this over with." He raised
the ruler and paused. "I'm not going to lie to you, Krycek. This is going to
hurt. A lot. And I hope every single time I whack your ass, you think about
how close you came to ending your day on a slab."
"Oh God..." Krycek whimpered. His heart pounded. The anticipation of the
first whack was almost unbearable. He was sweating, his hands sticky against
the fake wood grain. Unbelievable that a spanking could inspire so much fear in
him. It's ok, Alex, he thought. Just a few whacks. You can do it.
"If you need to yell, go ahead," Mulder said. "No one ever comes down here,
not even the cleaning staff."
Mulder brought the ruler down right across the center of both pale cheeks.
The crack of wood against flesh was deafening in the closed room. Alex yelped.
If the burning stripe the ruler left across his ass was any indication of
things to come, he was in trouble. He hoped Mulder's arm tired quickly.
Mulder whacked him again, leaving another red stripe just below the first.
"OW! Jesus, Mulder!"
"What is this spanking for, Alex?" Mulder asked. Two more sharp whacks
followed in rapid succession.
"Ow..." Alex gasped. He winced as the ruler cracked down again. Fuck...it
was bad enough that Mulder had him bending over taking an bare-assed spanking
like a kid. Did he have to conduct a fucking deposition while he did it?
"I asked you a question," Mulder said. The ruler came down hard along the
undercurve of Alex's buttocks.
"Ow! Fuck...it's for...it's because I went in without backup!"
"And?" Mulder demanded. He brought the ruler down harder, making Alex howl.
"Owwwwww Mulder please! I fucked up! I know I did!"
"Convince me," Mulder said sternly. "I need to know that you have a crystal
clear understanding about what happened today. And how it is never..."
WHACK.
"going to..."
WHACK.
"happen again."
Krycek was determined not to cry but it was a losing battle. His ass was
fiery and throbbing and Mulder showed no signs of letting up. "I..." Krycek
managed, the first tears breaking free and sliding down his cheek. "I w-wanted to
show off," he admitted, his voice cracking. "I wanted to be the one to take
Biggs down. I knew I was supposed to wait for you but I didn't! I went in
and he was w-waiting! He...he had a shotgun...if you hadn't gotten there in
time..." he trailed off into sobs.
"That's right," Mulder said grimly. "Another few seconds and he'd have blown
you away. That's why you're getting a spanking, Alex. That's why I'm making
sure you don't sit down comfortably for a good long time. Because every time
you try, I want you to remember what could have happened today."
He was spanking the younger man with a steady rhythm now, bringing the ruler
down in short arcs, each stroke leaving its mark on Krycek's crimson butt.
Krycek was starting to buck under the ruler, trying to get away as it smacked
down again.
"Come on, Mulder," Krycek whined between sobs. "You don't have to do this!"
He tried to push himself up off the desk.
"Oh yes I do," Mulder said sternly. "You earned this, Krycek. Every last
bit of it." He leaned forward slightly, using his right arm to keep Krycek in
place. The younger man was sobbing hard now. It was time to drive the point
home and then put the matter to rest, for good.
He dropped down for a few hard whacks across the tops of Krycek's thighs.
Krycek yelled, gripping the sides of the desk with white knuckles.
"Pleeeeease," he begged through his tears. "I'm sorry!"
"You sure, Alex?" Mulder said. It was hard to hear Krycek's cries, hard to
see him suffering. But it was necessary. Mulder was the senior agent and
Krycek needed guidance, needed it badly. He was young, eager and entirely too
cocky for his own good. And, Mulder reflected grimly, the pain of a spanking was
nothing compared to the pain of getting blasted with a twelve gauge. "I need
to be sure. I've seen you try to bullshit your way out of trouble before."
"Y-yes!" Krycek shouted, wincing as Mulder landed another blow right on the
sit spot. "I swear to God, Mulder, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I know I was
wrong!"
Mulder nodded, shifting slightly to make sure he was covering the area
uniformly. His arm was starting to ache and he was pretty sure he was going to be
wearing an impression of the ruler on the palm of his hand for a while, but it
seemed he was also succeeding at making an impression on Krycek, and that was
far more important.
"Tell me, Alex," Mulder said firmly, the whacks coming hard and fast now,
building to a crescendo, "are you ever...EVER...going to pull a fucking stupid
stunt like that again?"
"Nooooo!" Krycek howled, his face wet with tears. "I swear! I won't ever do
it again! Never!"
"You're going to wait for backup...always...no matter how long it takes?"
"YES!" Krycek yelled. "Yes, I swear, Mulder! I swear I'll wait!"
"You'd better be telling me the truth, Alex," Mulder warned, laying the final
three licks down hard. "Or I promise you, this is going to seem like a game
of pattycake when I'm done with you."
"Yes, Mulder," Alex sobbed. "It's the truth! I promise!"
"Then we're done," Mulder said, throwing the ruler down.
He helped Alex stand. The younger man stood with his head bent, his hair in
his eyes. He made an abortive attempt to pull up his boxers but stopped
short. The thought of pulling even lightweight cotton over his burning backside
was just too much. He felt about as miserable as he'd ever felt in his life,
standing there in front of Mulder, his hero, his idol, with his pants down
around his knees, snuffling like a little kid.
Mulder looked at Krycek. "You okay?"
"Y-yeah," Krycek said, his chest hitching. He looked up, his eyes wet. The
anger and defensiveness were long gone. There was nothing left but acceptance
and sorrow. "I...I really am sorry, Mulder. For everything. For screwing
up like I did and for making you have to...you know."
"Yeah," Mulder said softly. "I know."
He reached out and slowly, gently, pulled Krycek into his arms. Krycek's
eyes were wide and startled over Mulder's shoulder, but then slowly drooped
closed as he settled into the older man's embrace. Krycek buried his face in
Mulder's shirtfront, breathing in the intoxicating scent that was uniquely his.
I'd know that scent anywhere, Krycek thought, his arms tentatively wrapping
themselves around Mulder's waist. In a crowd of a million people, I could find
him. There's no one like him, no one.
Krycek turned his face to the side, his tears blotting the white fabric.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered again. As much as his ass hurt at that moment, it
was nothing compared to the ache that came from knowing he'd let Mulder down.
"Shhh," Mulder said soothingly. "It's over now. It's forgotten. I hope you
know how much I hated doing that, Alex." Mulder paused for a moment, one
hand rubbing Krycek's back. "And I hope you know that I won't hesitate to do it
again if that's what it takes."
Krycek nodded against Mulder's chest and was rewarded by the feeling of
Mulder's arms tightening around him. Krycek clung to him. He could hear Mulder's
heartbeat in his ear, steady and comforting. Krycek's ass throbbed and
burned. He definitely didn't want to get another spanking like that, ever. But
this...this he could get used to. Someone there to care what he did, someone
there to keep him in check. Someone to hold him accountable when he did
something wrong.
Mulder swallowed hard, his cheek resting against Krycek's glossy dark hair.
"I lost one partner," he said, his voice strained with emotion. "I can't go
through it again. I won't."
"You won't lose me," Krycek whispered. "I promise."
He looked up at Mulder, his eyes clear and shining with truth.
"I'm not going anywhere."
The End
Just Between Us
by Lorelei
The door to the basement office flew open and Agent Alex Krycek stormed in,
scowling and loosening his tie. Agent Fox Mulder was hard on his heels, barely
taking time to slam the door behind him before ripping into his partner.
